Complaints - Overview

Latest Publications

Data to end March 2017 will be released in October 2017. This will be the last public release of NHS Complaints by ISD in its current format. These data will continue to be collected and reported by NHS Boards, in addition to National and Support organisations. Contact details for NHS Boards and other organisations are available here.

From 2017/18 onwards ISD will produce an annual one-page summary report on total numbers only.

All information provided on these web pages relate to NHS Scotland complaints data collated prior to April 2017.

Complaints about the NHS are valued alongside all other forms of feedback. They are a helpful way of identifying issues and areas in need of change within the service. Acknowledging these issues and taking steps to rectify associated problems is vital in creating an open and honest NHS and in maintaining the quality and safety of NHS services.

There is a wide variation in the type of contact that patients have with the NHS (e.g. treatment as an Inpatient, Outpatient, attendance at A&E, blood donation and transportation by ambulance) and patients (or their representatives) can make a complaint if they feel dissatisfied with any aspect of these interactions.

NHS Complaints Dashboard

The NHS Complaints dashboard provides users with the statistics for hospital and community services, family health services and special boards up to end March 2016. The data presented includes response times, issues raised and outcomes. This is available in addition to the 2015/16 publication report.

A User Guide [263kb] is available and we recommend reading this prior to accessing the dashboard for the first time.

The publication report provides additional information and commentary on NHS Complaints and we recommend that this is used in conjunction with the Dashboard as it contains footnotes and more detailed information on the complaints data.

News and Updates

The NHS model Complaints Handling Procedure (CHP) has been developed in partnership, led by a Steering Group involving the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) and representatives from across NHS Scotland including territorial boards, the Scottish Health Council, NHS Education for Scotland, NHS National Services Scotland, the National Prisoner Healthcare Network, primary care and the NHS Complaints Personnel Association Scotland (NCPAS). The independent Patient Advice and Support Service (PASS) and Healthcare Improvement Scotland public partners have also been actively involved.

The revised procedure is intended to support a more consistently person-centred approach to complaints handling across NHS Scotland, and bring the NHS into line with other public service sectors by introducing a distinct, five working day stage for early, local resolution, ahead of the 20 working day stage for complaint investigations.

ISD is a division of NHS NSS
Working at the very heart of the health service, NSS delivers services critical to frontline patient care and in support of the efficient and effective operation of NHS Scotland. Visit the NSS Website for more information